Broken: a Riverdale Story
by MomarieP
Summary: The story follows the next generation of Riverdale High - Cora, Archie and Veronica's daughter, Lily, Betty and Jughead's daughter, and everyone else, including some characters such as Alex, who's introduced later in the story. (The spelling of Lily's name kinda changes in the middle, sorry)
1. Chapter 1

Cora looked out the window of the classroom. _A gloomy day, as always,_ she thought, fiddling with her earrings. _Not surprised. This town is never sunny._ She looked back at the instuctor, bored out of her mind. Unsure of what to do, she tapped her best friend, Lilly, on the shoulder. Lilly glanced at Cora.

"What're you doing?" Lilly hissed. "Pay attention! This is important."

"Well," Cora whispered back, "I was thinking we could... Wreak some havoc?"

Cora wiggled her eyebrows at Lilly, and Lilly rolled her eyes.

"What did you have in mind?"

þ

"Are you sure this was a good idea?" Lilly yelled over the fire alarms and sprinklers. "Cause I don't think it was."

Cora giggled. "Yep, I'm sure! Now come on, we gotta "evacuate". They'll be worried." She wiggled her eyebrows again, and Lilly rolled her eyes again, as per usual. As they evacuated, they ran into the principal, Mr. Weatherbee.

"What are you doing, taking so long?" Weatherbee asked. "Is it that, perhaps, _you_ girls were the ones to set off the alarms?"

Cora put on her most innocent face possible, which, by the way, wasn't very innocent. "No, Principal Weatherbee. We were just in the bathroom!"

Weatherbee eyed them suspiciously, but didn't interrogate them any more. "Well, Riverdale is a small town. I'm sure you know that by now, so I'm sure you also know that everyone in the town will know about this, and they'll have their suspicions."

Cora looked at Lilly, and Lilly looked back at Cora. Suddenly, Cora started giggling. Principal Weatherbee grabbed her arm.

"Cora Andrews, this is unacceptable!" Said Weatherbee, frowning. "You get to my office, now! I'm getting old, and I have no time to deal with this, you hear me? No. Time."

Cora put on her innocent face again and looked at the ground. "But Principal Weatherbee -"

"No buts! Now I'm heading to my office, and you'd better be with me in three minutes. No more, no less. Get there after I announce that this fire is not real. That this is a prank."

"Yes, Principal Weatherbee," Lilly said quietly. "We'll be there."

Once Weatherbee left, Cora grabbed Lilly's arm and turned her around.

"What were you _thinking?!_ " Cora half-yelled. "You should've defended me- defended us! He _trusts_ you, Lilly! You should've - I dunno, lied!"

"See, Cora?" Lilly whispered. "This is why my mom says I shouldn't be friends with you."


	2. Chapter 2

Cora stood, staring at her best friend. She was shocked. _Lilly's mom doesn't like me?_ She thought. _But what about Lilly's dad, he's a Serpent, so he's got to be a troublemaker. Honestly-_

Cora's thoughts were interrupted by the intercom. Once it turned on, Lilly grabbed Cora's arm and started dragging her towards the office, even before Weatherbee said anything.

"As you all know," came Weatherbee's voice over the intercom. "Someone set off the sprinklers and alarms. Or, I might say some _ones._ But do not worry, it was just a prank. I thank you for your patience."

Once Weatherbee finished, Cora and Lilly were just outside of the door to his office. Lilly opened it, and dragged Cora inside. Weatherbee looked at them as they entered.

"So," he said, slowly. "Do I need to get your parents to come in here?" Silence. "Well? Do I?"

"No," Lilly whispered. "No, you don't."

Cora looked at Lilly. It was hard to see the emotion on her face, but if I had to guess, it was betrayal. She felt like Lilly betrayed her.

Þ

Back in the classroom, nobody met their eyes. They sat down without anyone saying a word, then the instructor continued his lesson. After a while of being bored and staring out the window, Cora looked back over at Lilly. Lilly was digging her nails into the palms of her hands. Not noticing this, Cora just turned back out the window without a second glance. The instructor cleared his throat.

"Cora Andrews," he said. "Just because you're the daughter of the richest person in town and her husband doesn't mean you get the special treatment."

"Yeah, I know, Mr. Keller."

Yeah, you heard that right. Kevin Keller is a teacher at Riverdale High.


	3. Chapter 3

The fact that her teacher was gay had never bothered Cora. In fact, she liked the idea of a gay teacher. The thing _did_ bother her, though, was the fact that her gay teacher was married to a Southside Serpent. Nothing had ever bothered her more, in fact, than having someone who associated with the South Side being her teacher. Lilly's dad _and_ mom were Serpents- but that was different. They weren't the people teaching her about history. In fact, a while back, when her mother was Cora's age, the Serpents tried to change history. Well, not _change_ it exactly, more like... Change the way people saw it. That year, at Pickens day, something terrible happened. Something that changed Riverdale forever.

The beheading of the Pickens statue.

Cora turned her head to face Mr. Keller- or, should I say, Kevin.

"Yes, I know, Mr. Keller," she said, her face emotionless.

"Well then," Kevin continued. "You'll know that you need to pay attention, same as the rest of the class. Nobody here is as misbehaved as you are, Cora, and I think it may run in your parents' blood. Now," he continued. "I may be friends of your parents, but that does _not_ mean that you get special treatment."

"I know, Mr. Keller," Cora said. She was getting bored of the conversation, and, frankly, bored of Mr. Keller. "you already said that I don't get special treatment, what? 20 times? 100?"

Mr. Keller was obviously fuming, and that was what Cora wanted. She continued her sass.

"You know, I don't think someone who's married to a Southside Serpent should be teaching us children," she said with a gleam in her eye. "I think he should be living on the South Side, where he belongs, not in some normal house, like a _normal_ person. Because you _aren't_ a normal person, Mr. Keller. And I think-"

"CORA ANDREWS!" Kevin interrupted her, making the whole class jump in their seats. "Cora Andrews, I will _not_ tolerate this type of behavior in _my_ classroom! Now you apologize to all of your peers that are from the South Side."

Cora turned to Lilly, just remembering then that Lilly, in fact, was also from the South Side. Her cheeks burning with anger and embarrassment- shame, too- she stood up and apologized.

"I'm sorry, anyone who's from the South Side," she said. "I'm _not_ sorry, however about what I said to you." Mr. Keller got even more angry, but stayed quiet, listening to what she had to say. "I'm sorry that you have to deal with the shame of being a South Sider. Now, if you'd all clap at my speech, that would be-"

"TO THE PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE, NOW!"

"So, Cora," said Veronica Lodge- now Veronica Andrews- to her daughter. "You... Defiled, for lack of a better word, your teacher? Mr. Keller? And Lilly? And all the students from the South Side?"

"I thought you didn't likeSerpents, _Mother._ And I thought you were glad that you didn't end up marrying Jughead Jones, the one-and-only Serpent king."

"Do NOT speak that way about Jughead!" Archie yelled, unable to control himself.

Veronica put her hand on Archie's arm to help him calm down. "And, besides, not everyone from the South Side is a Southside Serpent. Jughead wasn't, for a while, and-"

"But he is now!" Cora blurted out. "He is now, and there's no changing that. No changing the Serpent tattoo on his arm. No changing the past, Mom"


	4. Chapter 4

"There's no changing the past, mom."

Veronica looked at Cora, confused, but at the same time, somehow proud. The fact that her daughter learned these things on her own, that was good. But it also scared Veronica. Cora was becoming a woman too fast, and Veronica wanted her daughter to be a child- if only for a few more months. She wanted those days where is was just Archie, Cora, and her in the Pembrooke, eating dinner, laughing, talking about school, about Archie's work, but somehow Veronica knew those days were over, and maybe for good.

"Yes, well..." Unsure of how to defend Jughead from Cora, Veronica trailed off. "Well, not all Serpents are bad, anyway! Jug- he's nice! And he's the father of your best friend, you must not think that he's _all_ that bad... "

Cora scoffed, and Veronica sighed.

"Mijá, please, just listen, don't attack the Serpents just because-"

"Did you know," said Cora, matter-of-factly, "that Lilly's mother, Betty, doesn't want me anywhere near her daughter? Did you know that Betty doesn't like me- no, in fact, I think she _hates_ me! And I never knew how to say this to you, Mom, but the Pembrooke isn't all that it used to be. So wrap your head around that one."

"Cora," said Archie. "You need to understand, Andrews Construction hasn't had much business lately, and your mother can't find a job, so-"

"WELL MAYBE SHE NEEDS TO LOOK HARDER!" Cora yelled, then stormed up the stairs to her bedroom.

þ

Cora sat on the four-poster bed that she felt she didn't deserve- no, it wasn't that _she_ didn't deserve it, but that her family didn't deserve it. She felt the satin sheets that they definitely couldn't afford and looked at her manicured nails, a pale pink polish on them. She sat at her vanity and looked at her dark-red hair and brown eyes- her face acne-free, perfect makeup smudged by the sprinklers earlier at school. She looked around at the navy blue walls and the thick, red carpet, patterned with roses and vines. She looked at all this stuff and realized why Lilly sometimes called her spoiled.

"I'd better call her," Cora mumbled, getting her phone out of her purse. "She'll be angry."


	5. Chapter 5

Lilly's phone rang. _it's just from Cora,_ she thought. _I don t really think I should answer..._

Lilly ignored the call and walked downstairs to see Betty and Jughead sitting on the couch. Lilly sat next to Jughead.

"Dad," Lilly said quietly. "When did you become a Serpent again?"

Jughead sighed. "Lilly," he said. "Don't tell me that you want to become a Serpent..." There was a pause , and Lilly looked at Jughead pleadingly. Finally, Jughead began talking again. "I was around your age. But Lilly, there's some stuff you need to go through. Some sexist shit. So just promise me you won't do any of that before letting me know. And you mother, she needs to know, too."

Betty looked up. "Did I hear something about me?" Jughead sighed. "Well, what're you guys talking about?" Silence . "Lilly, don't tell me..."

"I already go over there a lot!" Lilly protested. "So I just want to become a full Serpent! Please?"

Now it was Betty's turn to sigh. "Lilly, it can't be an automatic yes. You know that, but-"

"But what?" Lilly asked.

"But," Betty continued. " I think you should become a Serpent. No, don't look at me like that, Jug, it'll be good for her!"

Jughead sighed. "Just because it'll be good for her doesn't mean that-"

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Lilly opened it to find Alice Cooper, arms full of bags.

"Grandma!" Lilly said, hugging Alice. "What're you doing here?"

Alice chuckled. "Well Betty invited me over for dinner, so I brought food."

Alice set the food on the coffee table and hugged Betty and Jughead. "It's good to see you guys! I brought over a lot of stuff."

"I can see that, Mom," Betty said, laughing. "Now I'm going to go get this all on the kitchen table. You guys can talk about stuff."

þ

Back at the Pembrooke, Cora was desperately trying to call Lilly, to no avail. Cora set her phone down and tip-toed back downstairs, trying not to be heard. She snuck out the door and sighed, relieved that nobody had found her. She grabbed her bike and rode to Betty and Jughead's house, a little nervous about what she was going to say, but wanting to talk to Lilly. She arrived and knocked on the door.

A little bit later, Lilly opened up the door and frowned.

"What do you want?" She said angrily. "My grandma's over and I kinda don t want any hateful people in the room."

"Well," Cora said quietly. "I came to apoligize." Lilly's face softened, the anger gone.

"Come on, let's go inside."

Þ

"She _what?!_ " Alice yelled, after hearing Lilly's story.

"Yeah," Cora said quietly. "And... I'm sorry. I really am! It's just... I don't know why I said it, I... I'm really sorry..."

Betty looked at Jughead, concerned. "Jug," and whispered. "She looks like she's about to burst out in tears, what-"

And then Cora burst out in tears.

Þ

At the South Side, Kevin and Joaquin sat at the bar, bored out of their minds. Joaquin turned to face Kevin.

"You know, everything during high school... I meant it, it wasn't just-" he sighed. "Basically, what I'm saying is that I loved you before, too."

"I know that," Kevin said. "You don't need to tell me. And we're married now, so what would it matter anyway? As long as you love me now."

They kissed briefly and then Kevin turned back to face the bartender. Joaquin stood up.

"I was thinking..." He said. Kevin looked up. "There aren't that many children to adopt around here, but I know you've always wanted a kid... We could go looking?"

"That sound amazing!" Kevin stood up, too. "Come on."


	6. Chapter 6

"Cora, it's okay!" Said Lilly, trying to comfort her. "Calm down, nobody's gonna hurt you. Calm down."

Cora sniffled. "You've got to believe me, I didn't mean anything I said! I... I'm sorry!" she started crying again, sobbing into Lilly's shoulder.

Jughead looked at Betty. "What are we supposed to do..?" he whispered . "Should we take her back to Veronica and Archie? "

Betty was silent for a moment, then whispered back- "yeah. She needs to talk to them about this. And... I know I've said before that Lilly shouldn't be friends with her, but... Seeing this..."

Jughead nodded, and turned to face Lilly and Cora. "We're getting you back to your parents. They'll be worried. "

"I'll call Archie," Betty said. "He needs to know where Cora is."

Þ

Joaquin out down his phone. "Nothing. There's no adoption center in Greendale."

"Have you tried Centerville?" Kevin asked.

Joaquin sighed. "I'll try." He picked up his phone again and got out an online map. "I would try other towns, but Centerville and Greendale are the only nearby towns on the map."

Kevin paced around the room, waiting. Suddenly, Joaquin stood up.

"There's an adoption center!" He said.

Kevin smiled. "I'm so happy... Where is it in Centerville?"

" Actualy, " said Joaquin. "it's not too far from here! Should we go now?"

Kevin nodded and started heading to the door.

"Come on!"

Þ

Betty, Jughead, and Lilly ate in silence, Alice desperately trying to find some sort of icebreaker, but nothing good came to mind. Finally, she had an idea.

"So," she said. "The twins both got jobs and moved out of the house..."

"That's great," Betty said. "How are they doing?"

"Pretty good..." Alice said. " Juniper's getting married in a few months."

"Really?" Lilly asked. "Has Dagwood even found a girlfriend yet?"

Everyone laughed.

"No," Alice said, still laughing. "But I'm sure he'll find someone soon enough."

"Is Polly still at the farm?" Betty asked.

Alice shook her head. "No, she's been in a house she rented for a little while now... But she's planning on moving back to Riverdale soon!"

"That's amazing!" Said Betty. "Where will she stay?"

"Well..." Alice said. "She wanted to stay here- and before you say anything, I did tell her that there may not be room, but she insisted. She hasn't had much time to spend with you guys, and..."

Betty sighed. "We could probably clear out my office and put a cot there... We'll probably get another bed later, though... Maybe she could stay here."

"Couldn't she stay with you?" Lilly asked. " I mean, you have a spare bedroom! "

"Well," Alice said slowly. " it's kinda that... Well... Um... "

"Get to the point!"

" Lilly! Don't talk to your grandmother like that! "

"Well," Alice continued. " FP is kinda staying with me... "

Þ

"Dad is _what?!_ " Jughead yelled. Betty put a hand on his arm.

"Jug, calm down. " she turned to Alice. "Mom, what do you mean, FP is staying with you?"

Alice looked at the ground. " Well, he couldn't stay at the trailer, so I offered to let him stay in the spare bedroom..."

"You're not..." Lilly trailed off.

"No!" Alice said, maybe a little too quickly. "No way! That's... "

"Good," Lilly said. "Cause otherwise, that would be... Ew. Cause FP is my grandpa, and you're my grandma..."

Betty and Jughead both stared at Alice without saying a word. After a few moments of akwardness, Alice stood up.

" Well, " she said. "I've gotta go... See you all later."

And she stood up and left.

Þ

Joaquin circled the adoption center.

"There's no parking..." He mumbled. " I guess I'll park on the side of the road... "

Kevin sighed. "This whole place seems sketchy... I guess all the better to get a kid out of here."

Joaquin nodded , and parked next to the sidewalk in front of the adoption center. They got out of the car and walked toward the door.

Kevin opened the door to find an old woman, maybe in her 60's, smoking, sitting at a desk. She stuck her cigarette in a green ashtray and stood up.

"What do you want?" She asked.

"We were, um... Going to adopt a kid..." Kevin said. Suddenly Joaquin took a step back.

"P-penny Peabody..." He stuttered. "What're you doing here?"


	7. Chapter 7

Penny chuckled.

"You're one of those Serpents, aren't you? What was your name... Wah-something... Joaquin, was it?"

Joaquin shuddered. "We need to go, Kev." Kevin didn't move. " I'm serious! Hasn't Jughead told you about Penny Peabody? Come on!"

"Why? I.." Kevin trailed off. "She can't do any harm here, right?"

Penny laughed again. "oh, you have no idea what I can and can't do. So," she said. "What do you want?"

Joaquin opened his mouth to say something, but Kevin cu t him off. "We want a kid. Around 16 years old, maybe a.. A girl?"

Penny didn't say anything more to them, but went down a hallway and pounded on one of the doors.

"Get out here, Sarah! You've got visitors!"

A blonde-haired girl came out of the room, straightening her flower-print dress with one hand, a hair brush in the other. She tossed the brush back into the room, not bothering putting it away,.and sighed.

"Another gay couple, Penny?" She said, rolling her eyes. "seems only gay couples want to adopt lately. "

Kevin sighed. "Do you even want to be adopted?"

" Obvioisly, " the girl said. "I wanna get out of this hellhole. So what do you want in return?"

" We want a kid who's not snotty, " Joaquin said, sighing. "So yeah, Should I sign the papers or not?"

The girl rolled her eyes again. "Sure, whatever, just... Get me out of here."

"I'll get the papers," Penny said. " if you really want this brat. "

Þ

 _ **Sorry this chapter is super short, just wanted some free time, and i can't exactly save my progress on the device I'm using, so yeah. Thanks for understanding.**_


	8. Chapter 8

Unable to convince Polly to stay somewhere else, Betty and Jughead were stuck with her for the time being. Lilly was happy about it, though. Polly told all sorts of stories of her life on the farm. Some of the stories creeped Lilly out, but she still listened, if not from interest, then to be polite. One day, Polly told a story that was very dark, even for one of the stories about the farm.

"One time," Polly said to Lilly. "the people at the farm wanted to sacrifice Juniper to the farm- as, like, a payment or something."

Lilly gasped, appalled. Polly ignored her, continuing her story.

"So I told them that I would give up Juniper, to trick them. And just when they were gonna kill her, I-"

Betty walked in the room. Seeing Polly so excited scared her, especially after everything that she supposed happened at the farm. The _cult._

"Don't you have homework to do?" Betty asked Lilly. "You never got your project done on tornadoes or whatever..."

Once Lilly was gone, Betty sat next to Polly on the couch.

"I get it," Betty said. "You want to share your experiences with someone else, but Lilly, she's just a kid-"

"And _I_ get it," Polly interrupted. "That you don't want a teenager to be talking about this stuff, but I need to talk to someone, and you won't listen, and-"

"Juniper still has the scars from that one," Betty said. "And Dagwood may not be scarred physically, but... I would imagine that seeing your twin get almost _murdered,_ I don't understand how he's still mentally stable."

"Betty, they're strong!" Polly said, not angry anymore, but excited again. "They're both really strong- in different ways, sure, but that's what makes them a great pair! Jason would be so proud..."

Betty sighed. "Sure, but I don't know if that has anything to do with Lilly. Sure, _they're_ strong, but Lilly... She's..."

And, unknown from either of the women in the room, Lilly was spying silently, trying to hold back tears.

* * *

On the drive back to Kevin's house, Joaquin and Kevin were having questions thrown at them like bullets by Sarah, wanting to know everything about them.

"So," Sarah said, asking another question. "how did you two meet? I looooove the romantic parents, and being sort of a fujoshi myself, gay couples are the best. I mean, I acted annoyed when I found out you two were gay, but _god,_ if I were to say anything of the fujoshi sort, the Penny woman would whip me, I swear. She spanks the younger kids, too. And we all smell of cigarette smoke cause of her damn smoking. I mean, she deserves to have her lungs shriveled, but it's affecting us, too. _And_ there's, like, 3-year-olds here! Like, honestly-"

"Do you _ever_ quit asking questions?" Joaquin said, rolling his eyes. Sarah shut up immediately. Kevin sighed.

"Joaquin, she's just a kid. Cut her some slack."

Joaquin acted like he didn't hear Kevin. "And besides," he said. "What's a fujoshi, anyway?"

Sarah blushed. "Well," she said. "It's basically, like, uhh... a girl who ships gay dudes?"

Kevin laughed. He was beginning to warm up to the chatterbox.

"Well," Joaquin said. "Whatever it means, we're almost home."

* * *

Cora mumbled something.

"What did you say?" Veronica asked. "No, really, mija, I'm not trying to be mean- what did you say?"

"Nothing," Cora said. "It really was nothing, I swear."

Archie sighed. "Don't think I don't know what you're up to," he said. "I know that you're trying to make amends with the Jones', but the question is _why?_ Why them? And why now? Can't you just make amends with your teacher?"

Now Cora was the one to sigh. "Dad, I dunno _how_ to make amends with him. I already said that and he knows that I hate him and it just doesn't feel right, and-"

Cora's onslaught of excuses was interrupted by a knocking on the door. Veronica opened it to find Kevin and Joaquin, with a girl they never knew.

* * *

Betty knocked on Lilly's door. Lilly sniffled, holding back tears.

 _Mom doesn't think I'm strong enough?_ She thought. _I- I'll show her..._

Betty knocked again. "Lilly, please come out!" Betty said quietly. I need to know what's wrong before I can fix it!"

"'What's wrong'?" Lilly mumbled. "I'll tell you what's wrong."

Betty sighed, and decided to go to her last resort. The thing that always got Lilly out of her room, no matter what-

"You can have marshmallows if you come out."

Lilly, still in a sour mood, came out of her room.

"What's this about marshmallows?" she said. Betty smiled.

* * *

Back in Betty's old office, Polly was searching through the files of old newspapers, for a specific one. One from many years ago.

And then, finally, she found it- she found the newspaper.

The newspaper about the murder of Jason Blossom.


	9. Chapter 9

Polly sighed and hugged the picture of Jason close to her chest, remembering every happy moment they had together. Remembering every kiss, and the plan the had to go to the farm together, how that plan was ruined by Jason's father, who committed suicide soon after being discovered. She wanted revenge, sweet revenge, and revenge she would get. By god, revenge she would get.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the kitchen table, Lilly was eating marshmallows and Betty was trying to get her to say what was wrong. Lilly wouldn't talk, not for the death of her. Betty sighed.

"Lilly, if you would only tell me what you were crying about..."

"Well I'm not crying now," Lilly said. "So it doesn't matter. Now leave me alone with my marshmallows."

Betty smiled. "I'll tell you how to become a Serpent," she said quietly. Lilly's head perked up.

"Yes!" Lilly half-whispered. "Yes, can I?"

"I'll tell you how." Betty said. "But that does _not_ mean that you can! You need to tell me first. What you're gonna do, stuff like that. And you know," Betty said, quiet again. " If it were just up to me, you could go right ahead. You know how I feel about the younger Serpents calling You a 'half-serpent'. And since you spend so much time over there already... "

Betty trailed off. "Yeah, I know how dad feels about it." Lilly said. "I dunno why, though."

"He was protective of me when _I_ wanted to become a Serpent, " Betty said, smiling. "I think that he thinks it's dangerous."

Lilly sighed. "Fine, I'll tell you what's wrong," she said. "But you've gotta promise me that you're gonna tell me everything."

" I promise. "

"Okay," Lilly said. "Why I was crying... I... It..." Lilly sniffled. "Polly..."

Betty got worried. "What about Polly?"

"Polly, she scares me," said Lilly. "But the thing is, I know she wasn't always like that... You can tell..." Lilly looked up at Betty. "The truth is, she didn't cry when... They were gonna sacrifice Juniper. I could tell by the look on her face, she didn't cry. She just came up with a plan. So..." Pause. "Someone needed to cry for Juniper. Someone needs to feel emotions - and show them - that aren't just anger, and - and twisted happiness, for Polly."

* * *

"Kevin!" said Veronica. "And Joaquin! And... who's this?"

"Sarah," Kevin said, smiling. "We adopted her. She's around Cora's age..."

Kevin stopped smiling, and Cora looked at the ground. Kevin sighed. "I know you don't mean everything you said, Cora," he said quietly. "So just stop the act and tell me what's actually bothering you."

"It's someone who's in the Serpents," she whispered, just enough for Joaquin and Kevin to hear. "Not the Serpents themselves."

* * *

Across town, Cheryl and Toni were happily watching TV, with no idea how much things would change in the near future. No idea how much Polly Cooper could change their lives.

* * *

Polly sorted out all the newspapers she sifted through. She picked up the newspapers about Jason's death, and headed out.

* * *

 _ **this is another short one. I just couldn't focus, I'm tired. I think the next chapter will be better**_


	10. Chapter 10

**_It's been a while! Sorry, I got busy with school and stuff. But now it's summer, so I actually have time. It's been so long, I kinda forgot who... Kevin was... Hehe. Anyway, hope you guys enjoy! I'm not sure how long this is gonna last, the story I mean, but I just want to write until it gets boring._**

* * *

There was a knocking on the door, and Cheryl stood up.

"I'll get it," said Toni. "You sit down."

Toni stood up and walked to the door, opening it to find Polly Cooper.

"Wait," Toni said slowly. "You're Betty's sister, right?

Upon the mention of "Betty's sister", Cheryl got up and headed towards the door. As soon as Cheryl was in sight of her, Polly pulled out the newspapers- every single one that mentioned Jason. At the top of the stack was a newspaper titled "Jason Blossom's death- Accident or Murder?"

Taken aback, Cheryl blinked. "Polly, what...?" Cheryl said, a little shocked and a _lot_ scared. "What's going on?"

* * *

"So, who in the Serpents are you mad at?" Kevin asked, sitting down. "What's up?"

Sarah was looking around the house, marveling at all the paintings, and the chandeliers, and, well, all the expensive things.

"It's not, like, a specific person, it's that..." Cora hesitated, unsure on how Kevin would react. "Someone wants to become a Serpent. And... I don't think they should."

Veronica looked at the floor, not saying anything.

"I... I see..."

"Yeah, I'm sorry, it's, like, not that I don't want her to become a Serpent specifically, I just don't want her to try anything that might get her hurt."

"Well, we should get going, I guess you'll see Sarah at school, huh, Cora?" Joaquin took Kevin's hand and made him stand up.

"Um, yeah, if she has classes with me-"

"Yes, that's great, I'll see you all later, thank you for apologizing, Cora, but we need to go."

"Um, okay, goodbye... Again, I'm really sorry..."

"Okay, well, we really need to go. Come on, Kevin."

* * *

"You killed Jason."

"What?" Cheryl stepped back, holding Toni's arm. "We got this all cleared up already, you saw the security footage, we know who murdered-" Cheryl felt herself about to cry. "He wasn't just your boyfriend, you know, he was my _brother."_

"But he spent way more time with me than he did with you, didn't he?" Polly smirked. "And we had children-"

"My niece and nephew."

"My _children_."

"I never get to see them, Polly, and Toni and I are their aunts." Cheryl tried reasoning with her. "We tried to be friends with you, I tried to be a good sister but..." Cheryl started to cry. "You never gave me the chance."

"YOU _KILLED_ HIM!" Polly lunged at Cheryl, who wasn't fast enough to get away. They both fell to the ground, Cheryl finally starting to fight back once Polly punched her eye. "YOU KILLED THE LOVE OF MY LIFE!"

Toni pulled Cheryl up and away from Polly, who was lying on the floor, panting. She stood up slowly.

"Don't try to deny it. You killed him. That security footage? Not his body. Look at it closely."

"We don't _have_ the security footage anymore!" Toni said, setting Cheryl on the couch. "You don't have any proof that _our_ proof isn't real, so why should we believe you?"

"Because... I loved him more than anyone else. Sure, connecting the dots, Cheryl had no reason to kill him, but neither did his dad. And don't tell me that _shit_ about the company or whatever, because that wasn't true. I knew his dad. A dick, but not a murderer. Now, about never being able to see Juniper and Dagwood, it's because they're not safe around you. They tell me that they're grown up now, but I know that they're still young enough not to realize that you're crazy."

"Y-you're the crazy one!" Cheryl was breathing heavily, still shaken up by the fight. "Get out of my house!"

"Alright, I will," Polly said, shrugging and gathering her newspapers. "It should've been my house, though. My house with Jason. But _someone_ had to go and kill him." She shot Cheryl a look before walking out with her nose in the air.

* * *

Alice looked at FP, who was eating a TV dinner... At the table. She wasn't sure what was going through his brain but also wasn't sure what was going through hers. Why was she thinking about him all the time? Like Cora said, "Ew." She was Betty's mother, and FP was Jughead's father. Jughead and Betty were married. She sighed and stood up, putting her plate in the sink.

"I think I'm going to go for a walk," she said, walking to the door. "I'll be back in a bit."

"What?" FP looked up. "Oh, bye."

* * *

"Why did we need to leave so suddenly?" Kevin asked. "We have time before dinner."

"Sorry, it's just that you were pissing me off. How can you forgive her, just like that? The things she said weren't just about you, you know. They were mostly about me."

"I-" Kevin sighed. "I know that, but you need to learn that not everybody is at fault. Yes, it was her fault for saying those things, but she apologized, and it seemed like she really meant it, so I forgave her!"

"It _seemed_ like she really meant it," Joaquin said. "Did she really mean it?"

"Well, I think so," Kevin said. "I would hope so..."

* * *

 ** _Again, sorry it's been so long! Thank you for reading!_**


	11. Chapter 11

FP sighed as Alice walked out the door. He went back to his dinner and pulled out his phone and started texting Jughead, afraid of what backlash he was going to get. He wasn't exactly afraid of Jug's reaction; he knew Betty would be told, and he was only afraid of her reaction. He was afraid of Betty in general. She acted like she was his mother, although he was her father-in-law. He chuckled to himself and sent the message anyway, almost wanting to see her reaction.

* * *

Jughead looked at his phone. "Why would he be texting me now? He hasn't been in contact for weeks..." Jughead opened up the message and frowned. "What the hell...?"

He put his phone away, trying to ignore it. Betty glanced at him.

"What is it?" she asked, trying to look at his phone.

"Nothing..." Jughead mumbled, turning back to the TV.

"Really? Because you seem pretty upset to me." Betty paused the show they were watching and glared at him.

"It's really nothing, if it turns into something, I'll tell you. I promise."

Betty shook her head. "I'm not turning this TV back on until you tell me what's wrong. Now..." Betty turned towards Jughead, leaning on her side. "What's up?"

Jughead sighed. "Well, it's just Alice and-"

"No." Betty leaned back on the couch and held her face in her hands. "No, they're not... They can't be..."

"No, it's just that he said that he actually could live in the trailer, and he _wanted_ to live with Alice, and-" That was all he could get out before Betty interrupted.

"Wait, he _wanted_ to live with Alice?!" Betty exclaimed, sitting upright. "So it _was_ what I thought..."

"No, it's just that-"

"That's _disgusting_! I can't even- I mean, it's not- I don't know, it's just not _right_!"

"Well, he said it hasn't turned into anything yet... I don't know if he means, like, he wants-"

"No, he shouldn't _want_ anything, he'd better not, anyway. That's just, I don't even know, it's just..."

"I get it, but you need to calm down. I know it- it doesn't feel right, and it shouldn't be happening, but..." _I can just see the smirk on his face right now,_ Jughead thought. _With both of our reactions, I bet he's having a blast. If only he could see us now._

He stood up and walked into the bedroom, slamming the door behind him. He flopped on the bed and sighed.

 _When will all of this stop...?_

* * *

Cora sighed. "Of _course_ Joaquin would be more upset than Kevin," she mumbled. "All the shit I said was about him. I honestly hate myself for it, but I don't even know how to talk to him... I've had barely any experience with him, I don't know what pisses him off, how other people talk to him, I don't know..." She sighed again and flopped back on her bed.

"Cora...?" Veronica lightly knocked on the door. "Do you want some ice cream?"

Cora sighed and sat up. "Yeah, I'm coming!" She got up and walked over to the door, opening it slowly. Veronica was standing in the doorway, holding two huge cups of ice cream. She handed one to Cora and smiled.

"I think you deserve something for your apology back there," she said. "I got mint chocolate chip flavor, your favorite!"

"Oh, thanks..." Cora looked into her ice cream cup and lifted the spoon filled with the expensive, yet not too fancy, ice cream, and slowly lifted it to her lips. She sighed again and ate it. It was definitely the thing she needed. She immediately ate half of it, then finally smiled. "Really, this is amazing."

"I'm glad you like it. Now, I'm going downstairs. Be careful not to spill any on the carpet, now!" Veronica closed the door behind her and smiled to herself. She really was proud of Cora's apology, and she just hoped that Cora's hotheadedness wouldn't get her into any more trouble.

* * *

"I'm amazed, their house was huge, and they had so much stuff!" Sarah said, bouncing up and down. "Your house is amazing, too, so cozy, it feels like home already!"

Kevin smiled. "Yep! That was Archie, Veronica, and Cora Andrews. Cora is your age, so she should be in some of your classes when you start school, which will be Monday."

"You're getting me in that quick? Wow..." Sarah mumbled, hoping she would've had a few days home alone, what with Kevin and Joaquin both having jobs.

"Well, it's mostly because I'm a teacher," Kevin said, smiling. He knew what Sarah was thinking. "For your grade, in fact. I might have you in one of my classes!"

"Really? Wow..." Sarah was silenced for a few seconds, then started her endless stream of noise again. "So anyway, do you want to hear about my friends at the orphanage?" She continued without waiting for an answer. "Well I was the oldest person there, by a lot; the second oldest was twelve. She was honestly annoying, but I can't complain, because, honestly, sometimes even _I_ think I'm annoying. Anyway, she and I had a lot in common, between the gay stuff, the fujoshi stuff, and all that anime stuff, but she was gonna turn thirteen soon, which meant that her goal was gonna be ruined. Oh, wait, yeah, the goals- Basically, each kid set a goal for themselves of when they wanted to get adopted. Her goal was by thirteen years old, if not younger. But an older couple came and whisked her away, they were honestly so lovey-dovey, it was cute, but that meant that my only friend was gone, and the next oldest person was nine, so I was kinda stuck by myself for a little bit. And before you ask, which you probably wouldn't ask, but I'm telling you anyway, my goal was to be adopted before I was seventeen. When you're seventeen is when that Penny woman started to get rid of you - made you get a job, took all of your stuff, all that jazz. That's mostly why the people my age were all gone - they were all seventeen or eighteen. There was this one girl, I remember, when I was nine - she was a year above me, her name was Jade, and-"

"Do you want some ice cream?" Kevin said quietly.

"What?"

"Ice cream, do you want some?"

"Oh, hell yes, anything for ice cream!" Sarah stood up and smiled. "Sorry if I'm such a chatterbox, I just haven't had anyone to talk to in a while."

"I get it," Kevin said, getting out the tubs of ice cream. "I get it."


	12. Finally A Serpent

_**Gonna start using chapter titles, I think. Sorry if I can't come up with good titles.**_

* * *

"'Sexist shit', huh, dad?" Lily muttered, shaking her head. "The only 'sexist shit' around here is you."

Lily didn't like thinking of Jughead that way, but honestly? If he thought the things she had to do to become a Serpent were "sexist", then he should see what's been going on in school. Actually, he _shouldn't_ see that, he would probably pull her out of school and homeschool her himself. _It wouldn't be half bad,_ Lily thought, walking into the Whyte Wyrm. _Except that I wouldn't be able to see Cora. It'd probably be for the best, anyway. Mom hates her._

 _Dad would lose it if he found out that I'm_ _here,_ she thought smugly. _I've practiced the dance and everything - I guess I'll just tell him that I got in on special circumstances; I mean, both my parents are Serpents, after all._

She looked around. There were Serpents everywhere - some younger than her. She recognized a girl who was two grades below her last year but got held back and is now three grades below her. She recognized another girl who was a year older than her and, although she claimed to be straight, couldn't deny the fact that the girl was cute. Like, really cute, like, "Hmm I would be gay for her" cute. And honestly, Lily _was_ a little gay for her, she couldn't lie.

Trying to ignore the cute girl who probably had a girlfriend (she was openly lesbian, like, _very_ openly lesbian. As in waving around lesbian flags during June, parading all over town openly lesbian.), she walked up to the bar and smiled her smile that Cora said could win any boy over. Not that she was trying to win anyone over, she was just trying to get her way. Maybe she was trying to win a cute girl over, but she wouldn't talk about that to anyone.

The bartender smiled right back. They knew each other from the other times Lily had been there, with her other friends at school, or, occasionally, with Betty and Jughead, to meet some of _their_ Serpent friends.

"What can I get for you today? Just another soda?" he asked, wiping a beer mug clean, how they do it in movies.

"I wanna get into the Serpents. Like, officially."

"Ohh, you want to get into the Serpents? Tired of kids calling you 'half-Serpent'?" he said, setting down the mug and leaning forward a little. "You know what you have to do, right?"

"Yep."

"Oh, I just thought that someone like you wouldn't like that type of stuff."

"I'm not saying I like it," Lily said, getting more impatient by the second. "I just have to do it to get in, so there's not really any other way."

"I guess not..." the bartender bit his lip in thought, then picked up the mug again. "Hey, you want a soda anyway? On the house!"

"Maybe after the dance?" Lily said, looking nervously at one of the few poles scattered around the room. The bartender followed her gaze.

"Yeah, I'm sorry, kid, there's nothing I can do to get you in."

"It's fine."

"Yeah."

"...So, I'm going to go get changed, and I guess I'll see you later?" Lily looked down at the clothes she had in her hand, clothes she "borrowed" from Betty (she hadn't asked, but assumed that Betty knew what she was doing.) and walked to the bathroom, heart pounding.

* * *

"Wait, she did _what_?!" Jughead tried to prevent himself from throwing his phone across the room. "You're telling me she went _across town_ , to the _WHYTE WYRM_ , without our _permission_ , to do the _SERPENT DANCE?!_ "

"Well, at least nobody's going to make fun of her at school anymore..." Betty mumbled, not sure if telling Lily was actually a good idea.

"But what if some of her _classmates_ are there!? And seeing her do that dance?! I just... I wish she would trust me more, tell me things..."

"Well, to be fair, the reason she doesn't tell you things is because she knows you'll react like this."

"You're right, I should calm down," Jughead said, sitting on the couch and trying to take deep breaths. "It's just... Ugh, I can't believe she's doing this! I know I said it'd be good for her to be in the Serpents, and it _will_ be, but she should've told someone..." he paused. "How did _you_ know where she was, anyway?"

"She's been talking about it a lot, Jug, it's pretty obvious," Betty said quietly, trying to calm Jughead down. "I'm sure you were just focused on something else, like Polly..." Betty quieted down even more when she said Polly's name. She didn't even want to think about Polly right now. _I have enough on my mind,_ she thought, rubbing her temples. _Even without my mentally unstable sister._

"Yeah..." Jughead sighed and stood up again. "I guess we'll assume she's staying late since she'll probably want to get a soda or something. And then she'll probably spend the night at Cora's."

"Yeah..." neither of them wanted to think about the possibility that she would be spending the night with a boy. _Or a girl,_ Jughead made himself think, trying to be open to anything.

"Yeah."

* * *

The extremely cute girl walked up to Lily after she did the dance, after she was officially initiated and had changed back into her regular clothes. "Hey, it's Lily, right?" the girl said.

"Um, yeah," Lily said, feeling herself start to blush. "I'm sorry, I don't know your name-"

"I'm Alex." The girl smiled at Lily, and she blushed even more. "Oh, I'm sorry if I'm embarrassing you, it's just that I wanted to say-"

"It's fine, you're not embarrassing me," Lily said, looking at the ground. Alex's perfect face turned from a friendly smile to a concerned frown in an instant, making Lily even more embarrassed. "I'm just..." _God, what do I say?_ "I'm just tired, that's all."

"Oh..." Alex smiled again. "Well, I just wanted to say that your dance was awesome. You sure you've never done that before?"

"Never." Lily's face was as red as a tomato. "My parents would freak."

Alex giggled. "Well, um, I was wondering if you want to come to my house?"

 _Is she gonna...?_ "Sure!" Against all judgment, Lily nodded and smiled, her face turning a slightly less embarrassing shade of red.

"My parents aren't home right now; they're on a business trip. They should be back tomorrow, I think they said."

 _Oh god..._ Lily thought, biting her lip. Oddly enough, Alex blushed.

"Um, so, should we go?"

"Hold on, I said I'd get a soda before I left," Lily said, rushing over to the bar and accepting the already-prepared soda that the bartender had made for her. She rushed back to Alex, drinking her whole glass of soda quickly and handing the glass to the nearest person who'd accept it. She smiled at Alex and nodded. "Let's go."

Alex walked out the door and led Lily into one of the better neighborhoods in the South side, walking the whole way. They stopped in front of a very ordinary house, not very big, but not that small, either. It looked like it could be in the Noth side.

Alex opened the door for Lily and walked in after her. The first room was a living space/dining space - two loveseats and a small TV were set up on one side, and on the side closest to the kitchen was a table and four chairs. Lily wondered what the fourth chair was for since there obviously wasn't anyone else here, and Alex had only mentioned her parents, not any siblings. She let it slide out of her mind, and sat on the couch next to Alex.

"You're pretty brave, coming into a stranger's house like that," Alex said, hiding her grin.

"What?"

"You barely even know me, and yet you come to my house when my parents aren't home."

"Oh... Yeah, I guess so," Lily said, not feeling brave at all. "But I mean, I don't get that _vibe_ from you, you know? That _feeling_."

"I kinda get that feeling around one of my teachers..." Alex shuddered. "He's just... Ew. Either way too friendly with the students or really rude. I'm so glad I'm not in his class anymore."

"Huh."

"Hm?"

"Oh, it's just that... I just did the thing I've been waiting to do for years, and I don't feel different at all. I just feel like... I just got this jacket. No special 'I'm where I want to be' feeling, but no 'I don't think I should've done that' feeling. Honestly, all I feel is relief. But somehow... I feel like I should be feeling more."

"More?"

Then suddenly, Alex's lips were on hers, and she didn't pull away.


	13. Maniac

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that, I-"

"It's fine."

Lily continued to look at the ground, her face as red as a tomato.

"Are you sure? You'll probably never talk to me again after this..." Alex mumbled, rubbing her arm.

"I'm sure. I want to be your friend."

"You're sure?"

"Or something more."

"L-lily!" Alex turned red. "I don't..."

"What, you don't want to be more than friends?" Lily gritted her teeth. "Then what was that kiss for?"

"N-no, I do, it's just-"

"Then kiss me again. And this time, mean it."

* * *

"When is she going to get _back_?!" Jughead yelled, still worried about Lily. Betty put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"She's most likely going to spend the night with Cora or Lina." Lina, one of the few of Lily's friends that were Serpents.

"Right, but is Lina any better than some random boy?" Jughead was getting more and more upset by the second. "We don't know her parents, and we barely know her!"

"It _is_ better than some random boy," Betty gritted her teeth. "We know that Lina at least bothers to be polite around adults. Quite a few random boys don't."

"Yeah, but-"

Betty's phone started to ring. She answered it. "Hello? ...Oh, hi, Lily! How was... Did you get your jacket? ...Yeah, I bet so. For me, it was definitely uncomfortable. When I got the jacket though, I... Yeah, it's fine, Lily, why are you so upset? You know your dad and I would love you either way. ...No, I don't care, it's fine. Just be back before lunchtime tomorrow, I want to celebrate. ...For you being yourself, obviously! And for being so brave about that... Yes, I know. I do need to tell him. ...Of _cour_ _se_ he wouldn't be mad! Do you even know him? ...Yes, I know. I love you, bye!"

Jughead raised one eyebrow. "What was she so upset about?"

"Oh, she's bi."

"Oh, okay, whatever," Jughead shrugged, looking back at his phone. "I just wish she would come home so I could talk to her in person."

"Yeah..."

"Yeah."

* * *

Polly grinned like a maniac, holding a picture of Jason close to her chest. "Oh, my Jason," she whispered, looking at the body at her feet. "Everything will be alright now. Everything will be alright."

* * *

Police sirens blared out in the night. The only people who didn't notice them were Lily and Alex, too deep in their own world to pay attention to everything else.

* * *

Lily's phone rang, and she pulled away. "What is it now..." she answered it. "Mom? Yeah, you said it was- _WHAT?!"_

* * *

Betty pressed the phone to her ear, pacing back and forth. "Lily, are you still at that girl Alex's house? ...Well, I'm picking you up. There's been a murder."

* * *

Lily sat in shock, her skin pale. "I don't... What if..." she was breathing hard, barely forming words. "Who was it?" she finally managed.

Betty shook her head, hugging Lily. "They haven't said yet. All they said was to stay safe and in your houses. I know you were planning on staying with Alex, but I need you with me. I just hope it wasn't someone we know..."

The chances of that were very low, Betty knew. Riverdale was small, and they would be lucky if it wasn't one of their very close friends.

"But Mom... They have to tell us!" Lily formed her first full sentence since she heard the news. "They have to tell us _something_! They can't just leave us wondering. The family is going to want to know!" she paused in shock, her mouth forming an O. "What if... What if it's part of _our_ family?"

* * *

Cora shuddered, stuffing another cookie in her mouth. "Mom, did they tell anyone who got killed yet?" Veronica had set out a plate of cookies when she found out and was sitting on the couch, Cora leaning against her.

"I don't know, sweetie, but they sure didn't tell us. I'll let you know as soon as I find out."

"Dad's still at work, right?"

"...Yes."

"But it's ten o'clock, what's-"

"Cora, hush. The roof was caving in, do you _want_ that poor family to be crushed? And before you ask, no they couldn't find somewhere else to stay. Not sure if you realized, but there were eight of them, and there are no hotels here!"

"But _Mom,_ they could've stayed with us! It would only be one night, and Dad would be-"

Veronica's phone started ringing. She picked it up. "Hello? ...Yes, I am friends with him, what's- Oh. My. God."

* * *

Jughead's eyes were wide, on the verge of tears. "Wait, you're saying that- ...Yeah, sorry, just really shocked, I don't know what to say, I don't know who... Wait, _that_ Polly? Like, Polly Coop- ...Polly Cooper _killed my dad?!"_


	14. The Murder

"Dad...?" Lily whispered, terrified. "Did you just say that-"

"Jug, it's gonna be okay," Betty wrapped her arms around Jughead, who was rocking back and forth on the couch. "It's gonna be okay, I promise."

"But did-"

"Lily." Betty's voice was quiet but firm. "Be quiet. Go get yourself some marshmallows or something."

"O-okay..."

"A-and get some for me, too..." Both Betty and Lily were surprised by Jughead talking. "W-what?" he whispered. "I'm hungry."

Lily nodded and walked into the kitchen, grabbing the bag of marshmallows that was stashed in the back of the pantry. She brought it back into the living room and set it in between the three of them, and Jughead started eating them, then Lily joined, Betty just sitting there in silence. She knew she should probably call or text her mom, telling her to come over, but couldn't bring herself to even look at her phone. She knew Alice didn't know yet - she would've stopped by, at least, if she knew. Instead, she busied herself with comforting Jughead and Lily, the two people she cared about most, stuffing their faces with marshmallows. She smiled despite the situation, afraid that, if she showed any kind of weakness, the weak dams that were holding back her tears would burst. She hadn't ever known Jughead that well, but he was like the dad she never had. He wasn't perfect, by any means, but was always there for Jughead, and, eventually, her. She sighed and sniffled, sitting next to Lily.

"Mom," Lily said, her blue eyes open wide in terror. "Is Polly gonna kill anyone else?"

* * *

Alice walked back to her house to find the entrance blocked off with police tape. She frowned and rushed up.

"What's going on? Is something wro-"

She fainted.

* * *

"Wait, that's _Lily's_ grandpa, isn't it?" Cora said, trying to stay calm.

Veronica nodded numbly and stuffed a cookie in her mouth. Why would Polly do that? What's happening?

"And the killer was Lily's aunt... Why would she do that?"

"I don't know," Veronica said truthfully. She shook her head and ate another cookie. "All I know is that she needs help. Like, mental help."

"She's probably gonna get arrested," Cora said, matter-of-factly.

Taken aback, Veronica blinked. "W-well, I guess so, yeah... Probably."

Cora nodded. "I think she deserves it. Lily told me about what she said about Juniper getting sacrificed..." she let up her calm facade and shuddered. "Creepy."

"Yeah," Veronica said, stuffing even another cookie in her mouth. "Creepy."

* * *

 ** _This one was short but... Sweet, I guess. The whole murder thing wasn't originally planned - as you could probably tell, I was going to go more in-depth on Alice and FP's relationship. But what's done is done, I guess. I really wasn't planning for that, but it's almost like the story has a mind of its own - like I can't control it. Creepy story stuff aside, I think that I an actually do something with this._**


End file.
